The God of Small Things Literary Analysis Essay

Introduction

"The God of Small Things" is a 1997 novel written by Arundhati Roy. It talks about an Indian family faced with many tensions and challenges in life including divorce, death and separation from their families. A major focus of the story is Rahel, Estha and their mother, Ammu, as well as their relationships of these characters with others throughout the novel. A major motif that recurs throughout the text is the titular figure, the God of Small Things. Vethula is a character highly associated with this motif through Ammu's dream. There are also other aspects that explain the authors motif of The God of Small Things in the story. To better understand this motif, the essay will analyze the role of the God of Small Things in Roy's text as it relates to Velutha, the questions of history and post-colonialism, and Edward Said's novel, Orientalism.

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The God of Small Things from Roys' text associates with Velutha in different ways. Ammu's dream gives the reader the idea that Velutha represents the God of Small Things. The dreams' title is "The God of Small Things" and Ammu is dreaming of a man who has one arm and holding her close to him. Roy states, "He could only do one thing at a time. If he held her, he couldn't kiss her. If he kissed her, he couldn't see her. If he saw her, he couldn't feel her" (215). From the story, one understands that Ammu was in love with Velutha. However, Velutha could not do much at a time, the "big things." Therefore, to Ammu, Velutha was the God of Small Things that she saw in her dream. The text also reveals Velutha as the God of Loss. After waking up from her dream, Ammu realizes that Rahel and Estha had visited Velutha and there is a possibility that Rahel might have done the forbidden thing, making love with Velutha as she had a curled and shaved wood on her hair. At this time, Ammu describes Velutha as the God of Loss, the God of Small Things (Roy 330). Ammu's dream and her realization that the man she loves is her daughters lover describes the meaning of Velutha's identify as the God of Small Things. As per Ammu, Velutha's action of making love with Rahel will bring a loss to the family due to the sin of incest caused by the actions of a mother and her daughter. Velutha is also the God of Loss because he does not have his two hands to embrace Ammu as she might have wanted. The identity of Velutha as the God of Small Things is also evident towards the end of the novel when he makes love with Ammu. The two are revealed having their first encounters in romance. However, the love between Ammu and Velutha is forbidden and cannot exist in reality. Therefore, they do it in secret without focusing on the future. The author states that "Even later, on the thirteen nights that followed this one, instinctively they stuck to the Small Things. The Big Things ever lurked inside. They knew that there was nowhere for them to go. They had nothing. No future. So they stuck to the small things" (Roy 338). Their love at the present represents the 'small things' that Velutha and Ammu valued in their love. The future is the 'big things' that should have been important to them. Therefore, Velutha associates with the God of Small Things in Roy's text.

The God of Small Things also relates to the questions of history and post-colonialism that runs through both the text and the course as a whole. In his novel, Roy was exploring the nation's history through the actions and events experienced by the characters. By digging through the history of the family and country, Roy reveals the various patterns suggested by the occurrences. For instance, the twin Rahel and Estha are described as "two-egg fossils trapped in the bog of a story that was and wasn't theirs." (Roy 236). By this quote, Roy means that the twins lived to experience a different historical moment. Post-colonial means a period after the European colonization and "The God of Small Things" was written during this time when Indians were imposing the language, culture and lifestyle of the English men to the locals. The post-colonial condition in the text is evident with the author referring to the Ayemenem as a place "in the heart of darkness." (Roy 52). The author is spanning through different cultures from the Indian to British culture. The identity of the characters needed to associate with the English people. An example is when the twins, Rahel and Estha were speaking Malayalam and English (Roy 60). It shows that the expectations of the society in India are that the people should refer to the western lifestyle and language to obtain their new identity. The characters adopted to this culture to identify themselves with people and things that were alien to them. The course teaches these happenings during the post-colonial era as it was a common thing for people to forge a new identity that resembled the English men.

Based on the historical perspective of the novel, "The God of Small Things," it can be placed in conversation with the Edwards Said's Orientalism. One can say that Edward Said, in his text in 1978 borrowed much from "God of Small Things" when writing his critique of the Western constructions of the Orient. Both novels were written during the post-colonialism period and demonstrate the history of the European colonization in other countries. Edward's text explain how Europe held most of the countries as commonwealths, colonies, dependencies, protectorates,, and dominions. Edward confirms Roy's findings of the way the Europeans made themselves superior to others, making nations such as India and its people feel uncivilized and wanting to change their cultural identity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, "The God of Small Things" by Roy is a text that demonstrates the motif of The God of Small Things as associated with Velutha, the questions of history and post-colonialism that run through the novel and the course as a whole as well as the Edward Said's Orientalism. Velunta is a God of Small Things in Ammus' dream, as well as his love relationship with Ammu and Rahel. The God of Small Things is also a motif related to the questions of history and post-colonialism because of the setting, events taking place as well as the actions of the characters as they associate with the western culture. "The God of Small Things" relates to Edward Said's Orientalism since Edward also wrote his novel during the post-colonial era. Edward also borrows from Roy's text regarding the descriptions of how local cultures were changing identify after colonization.

Work Cited

Roy Arundhati, "The God of Small Things." Penguin Book. 1997.